NGT quashes clearance for Godrej Properties project near Bengaluru lake

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has quashed the environmental clearance granted to a high-rise luxury project by Godrej Properties Ltd and Wonder Projects Development Pvt. Ltd in Bengaluru.

It ruled that the construction would fall within the buffer zone of Kaikondrahalli lake, and therefore violative of zoning laws.

The bench said no environmental clearance (EC) can be granted for a construction that would violate the buffer zone of a lake.

"It is clear that the project stipulates construction in the buffer zone, which is in violation of the zoning plan and a judgment of this tribunal as affirmed by the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the EC is quashed," it said.

The tribunal directed the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and the Bengaluru Development Authority to take further action in accordance with the law.

The petition was filed by Bengaluru resident H P Rajanna against the project named Godrej Reflections being built by Godrej Properties Ltd and Wonder Projects Development Pvt. Ltd at Kasavanahalli village in Varthur Hobli in Bengaluru Urban district.

Rajanna challenged an SEIAA order dated January 10, 2018, granting an EC to the project at survey nos. 61/2, 62 and 63/2, Kasavanahalli village, Varthur Hobli, Bengaluru East Taluk, Bengaluru district.

According to Rajanna’s petition, the construction lies in the buffer zone of the Kaikondrahalli lake, apart from one primary and two secondary rajkulewas (storm-water drains).

"The area is eco-fragile and the environmental load of the project would be much more than the carrying capacity of the area. The project proponent deliberately concealed relevant data. The project is in a No Development Zone, being the buffer zone of the lake," the plea said.

The website of the project Godrej Reflections, at Sarjapur Road, Bengaluru, bills it as luxurious lakeside living “adjacent to the Kaikondrahalli lake”. Accompanied by several pictures of a lake—where “time stands still by the lake”—the copy says, “Imagine a residential campus with more than 80% green area, with more oxygen to breath.”